


Like Stories on a Screen

by finkpishnets



Category: Ben 10 Series
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-05
Updated: 2010-12-05
Packaged: 2017-10-28 12:57:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/308105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/finkpishnets/pseuds/finkpishnets
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Non-Alien AU. “No,” Ben says, “seriously, does this mean you like me? Does this mean you want to kiss me and go to prom and hold hands in the hallways?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Like Stories on a Screen

**Author's Note:**

> For the hs_bingo prompt ‘seeing a movie’.

Even though he’ll deny it with every bone in his body, Ben actually quite likes high school; he has friends, passes his classes with fair enough grades, plays for the soccer team, and manages to avoid all the teenage angst Gwen’s movies suggest is par for the course. He’s sort of maybe started seeing Julie from History class if getting a burger a couple of times can be called ‘seeing’, and as long as he does his chores his mom doesn’t enforce a curfew at the weekends.

Life is pretty sweet.

Except now he’s sitting on the steps of the movie theatre, coat wrapped tightly around him, and having to face the fact that forty-five minutes is less late and more stood up. He’s already bought the tickets too, so there’s no chance of walking away like he was just passing the time, and he knows the guy in the booth probably doesn’t give a damn about one more high school kid but it’s embarrassing anyway.

He's wondering whether he can just sneak inside, pretend he was just getting some air and his date’s inside, when someone stands in front of him.

“Oh,” Ben says, blinking up at Kevin. “Hey.”

“Julie’s a no-show, huh?” Kevin says with a grin and Ben rolls his eyes because Kevin’s never liked Julie, hasn’t exactly been subtle about it, but he could at least not make fun of Ben’s misery. He’s pretty sure that’s basic best friend protocol.

“Come on,” Kevin says with a put-upon sigh, reaching down and pulling Ben up by the arms, “I’ll watch the damn movie with you.”

“Cool,” Ben says, smiling, and nudges Kevin’s shoulder in thanks.

 

+

 

The movie is lame and predictable but there’s enough explosions to keep it watchable, and Kevin’s practically drooling over the cars the hero gets to drive so it’s not a total waste, and by the time Kevin’s started not quite whispering sarcastic commentary over the romance scenes it moves somewhere firmly into the realm of fun.

 

+

 

They’re walking back to Kevin’s car, still making fun of the movie, when Ben’s phone buzzes in his pocket.

“Dude,” he says, frowning at the screen, “that’s so weird. Julie just sent me a text telling me she hopes I feel better soon. Huh?”

“Yeah,” Kevin says, and when Ben looks up he doesn’t meet his eyes. “Totally weird.”

“You cancelled my date,” Ben says, gaping as he realizes, and he doesn’t know how he knows but he knows he’s right. “You actually cancelled my date!”

“I did not,” Kevin says, crossing his arms with a glare that only last a second. “Okay, fine, I did. But for all the right reasons.”

“Which were?”

Kevin frowns for a moment before waving his arms around in defeat. “I don’t know! Because she’s always around and she wears that disgusting, stifling perfume and she doesn’t know the difference between a gear shift and a carburetor.”

“I don’t know the difference between a gear shift and a carburetor,” Ben points out, and he knows he should be pissed off, knows he should tell Kevin to get out of his business, but really he’s just amused.

“Yeah,” Kevin says, “but you’re you.”

“Thanks,” Ben says, “I think.”

“I don’t like her,” Kevin says, and it’s as close to a pout as he’s ever come.

“No,” Ben says sarcastically, drawing the word out, and Kevin laughs.

“Yeah, okay.”

“So,” Ben says as he realizes something, “wait, does this mean that was a date?”

“What?” Kevin says, and he looks just panicked enough to make Ben’s joke not seem quite so funny.

“Shit,” Ben says, “it was.”

“No,” Kevin says, “no it wasn’t. What? Shut up.”

“Dude,” Ben tells him, and he wants to laugh but he thinks Kevin will probably take that the wrong way. “You’ve got to start telling me these things.”

“I hate you,” Kevin says petulantly, getting into the drivers seat and slamming the door shut behind him as Ben scrabbles to get in before he drives away out of pettiness.

“No,” Ben says, “seriously, does this mean you like me? Does this mean you want to kiss me and go to prom and hold hands in the hallways?”

“I will throw you out of this car,” Kevin growls. “While it’s moving.”

“No you won’t,” Ben laughs, grinning, “because you like me.”

“Oh for-“ Kevin says, “fine! Yes, I like you, only apparently you’re a complete moron and haven’t actually noticed. So, no, I don’t like your girlfriend, and no, I don’t want to go to prom or hold hands in the hallway, but I would like to do things to you that would leave you physically unable to speak.”

Ben maybe chokes on his tongue.

“Oh,” he says, “right.”

“Exactly,” Kevin says, eyes fixed on the road ahead.

It’s quiet for a while, and Ben’s head’s spinning, too many thoughts and feelings at once. “What kind of things?” he says eventually, and Kevin looks at him, swerving a bit before he recovers.

“Shit,” he says, “seriously?”

“Seriously,” Ben says, because, yeah, he can say without a doubt that he’s interested.

Except Kevin’s laughing now and Ben probably deserves it. “Why, do you like me?” Kevin mocks, and Ben rests his head in his hand and chuckles.

“I don’t know,” he says, “I guess it depends just how speechless these things really make me.”

Kevin’s quite for a moment, like he’s thinking, and Ben lets him because for all the joking this is actually something verging on major.

“Only one way to find out,” Kevin says eventually, and Ben’s smile is a little softer now, a little more serious.

“My mum’s not home ‘till late,” he says, and watches the way Kevin’s fingers tighten around the steering wheel. “You know, so there’s plenty of time for proper research.”

“Yeah?” Kevin says, and Ben knows that it’s maybe a bigger question than it seems and he knows his answer has to be the right one because they’ve got too much to lose otherwise.

“Yeah,” he says and means it, “you know me; ever the studious type.”


End file.
